


The Sour Taste of Freedom

by FlamingPancakes



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Ambiguous Reader Gender, Anxiety, Asexual Character, Asexual Ishigami Senkuu, Asexual Relationship, Blood and Violence, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Epic Friendship, F/M, Gen, Grieving, Here we go, Im tired, Manipulation, Romantic Friendship, Social Anxiety, Unreliable Narrator, also, and, and also, anxious reader is anxious, but moreso, can be read as platonic, cuz we need more representation, get ready for a ride, i wrote this at 12 am, repeadidly, so tags..., there are different types of asexualities, these are my choices and i made them, we got some, what time is it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:20:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlamingPancakes/pseuds/FlamingPancakes
Summary: You've always been the quiet one all your life. A mouse. A shadow.No one notices you. No one pays attention to you. No one even knows you.But then the world turns to stone, and when you wake, the world is very different.In this new world, you'll battle emotional manipulation, grieving over the loss of your brother, some wild animals, and maybe even find someone just in need of a friend as you.And all this because a girl befriended you after class.ON INDEFINITE HIATUS
Relationships: Ishigami Senkuu/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Okay! Time to write a short fic about a show I like!  
> Also me: what time is?
> 
> So, to start off.... I have no reason for writing this except, one, I really enjoyed watching Dr. Stone and, two, Senku was prob my fav character- Kohaku is a close second bc she's a badass. Also, I noticed a lack of asexual content, so here I am, powered by only sheer stubbornness and love of writing.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy reading!

If you knew the world was going to end today, you’d probably had picked a better last word than: _huh._

* * *

  
  
The morning began the way it always had: monotonic, boring, normal.

The sun was shining on this simple day; the warm sunshine seeping through your flimsy curtains. And promptly onto your sleeping face.

The first thing to greet you to a new day was a blinding light burning into your corneas. It was an instantaneous sting and a hiss left your lips as you immediately rubbed your stunned [fc] eyes.

What a way to wake up in the morning. 

Groggy and disoriented- both from sleep and the _oh so brilliant_ _sun_ \- you forlornly kick off your [fc] blankets and begin your morning. Your phone feels like it's miles away from your slumped position on your bed but you manage to grab it and turn it on. Nobody really ever texts you, but it doesn't hurt to check. Heck, maybe there's some interesting news for once or whatnot...

And fuck. You woke up late.

Suddenly, the lazy atmosphere evaporates into thin air. It disintegrates. Dies. Crumbles away like dust because oh god, you were supposed to be downstairs a good chunk of time ago. And if you're an expert on your life- though an expert is too grand of a word to describe your handle on life right now- then you know someone's already pissed about that.

Throwing yourself into the repetitive morning ritual, you hastily brush your teeth, comb your [length] hair, and throw on your uniform. Your backpack is already slumped in the corner of your room, so it's a simple task to pick it up and head into the hall.

” _[Name!]_ Ah, I’ve seen you finally joined the land of the living." Your mother greets you with a stern frown. 

"Yes," You say meekly, your feet shuffling towards the dining table. The sunshine falls through the window, its' yellow glow soft and warm spread across the tablecloth. Accompanying the peaceful scenery is the steaming arrangement of food placed precariously on the table; the warm fragrance of egg and rice fills the room with a pleasing smell. 

It's another normality of the morning: the smell of your mother's cooking- and also the rant she greets you with.

"You need to start waking up earlier, [Name.]" You hear her begin as you sit down at the table. "It's incredibly lazy and no child of mine will be a slouch. Now hurry up and eat! And pack your lunch too! You’re getting too old for me to cook for you; it’s time you learned to do it yourself.” 

You can hear the bite in her voice, the harshness in her tone and a part of you wilts at the sign that, no, she isn't done and, no, you won't be able to enjoy your breakfast. Might as well until she's done...

"Oh come on, Mom," A new voice perks up, warm and loud; different and contrasting to the coldness of your mother's voice. "[Name] just woke up. Let them eat first at least."

You turn around and there stands your brother. Tall and lanky, he doesn't look like much but his sunny personality makes up for the first impression. Though to his credit, he has a lot going for him; smart, excelled at medical school, and already he has a job as a surgeon at the local hospital. Which means more money to your mother's delight and more pressure on you to do just as well.

He's also your favorite person in the world.

"Hmph," Your mother harrumphs as she sits down at the table. "Of course you take their side. You really need to stop coddling them or else they'll never get the push to do something worthwhile, like help take care of their mother."

"Now, now," Your brother says as he sits down. "Isn't that already my job? What am I? Chopped liver?"

"You, I don't need to worry about. It's an achievement enough to have a doctor in the family. But [Name] I do worry about. You've seen their grades. How will they get into a good university with grades. And don't get me started about how they cook.."

You feel your ears heat up. Your face begins to burn. There's a twinge in your chest, deep enough to stab your heart even though you know by now to take your mother's words for granted. Still though, it hurts to hear her say that because you do try in school; you study, go to tutoring, and yet it feels like nothing works.

Maybe your mother has a reason to worry. You're not good at anything; math was always a struggle for you and science has you just barely holding on. Language hasn't sparked any kind of prodigy in you and sports? Unless you count doodling as a sport, then no.

As far as you know, the only thing you're good at is something that won't be a moneymaker. And even then, it's also something your mother finds as a waste of time. Maybe she's right. Maybe you're not trying hard enough. Maybe you're not doing good enough. Maybe you're not good enough...

A hand ruffles your hair and you look up to meet your brother's smiling face.

"Pah, don't listen to her." He whispers, leaning down to your ear. "She's just worried, as all mothers do. Besides, you'll find something you're good at. You just have to keep trying until you find something that fits you... at least, that's what I want for you."

A small smile blooms on your face. The twinge in your chest burst into a warm glow and you hesitantly meet your brother's eyes. "Thanks."

A grin burst to life on your brother's face, his teeth white and flashy. "Aha!" He exclaims. "There's my little mouse! I got a word out of you!"

You can't help but roll your eyes at him. It's not that big of a deal; you talk. Just... not as much as others.

"Shut up." You mutter, but the smile on your brother's face as the frown you wear slowly morphing into a smile.

"And another one! Man, I'm on a roll." He then proceeds to pat himself on the back and it's just as absurd as it sounds. Your mother rolls her eyes at him from her spot across the table and you think just maybe this morning won't be so bad.

But then there's a buzz and your brother pulls out his phone. The smile drops from his face and a focused, tight-lipped frown takes its' place. 

"Well, gotta go." He states as he stands up. "There's some sort of emergency at the hospital and they need a few extra hands to come in earlier."

"Well, don't just stand there all day. Go!" Your mother says in way of goodbye.

"I'll see you guys later." He picks up his satchel, his coat already over his shoulders, and the doorknob in his hand. "Mom, have a good day and [Name]"- You perk up. There's a smile on his face but it looks different. "- see you for dinner. And try to make some friends today, alright?"

You huff at him. "Fine. Just go already." You mumble and the last you see of him is a mischievous grin as he disappears behind the door.

After that, the morning was the same as always; monotonous, repetitive, muscle memory.

Straighten out your uniform underneath the table, so your mother won’t see your attempt at ironing. Pick up a bowl. Take a bit. Do it again and again but slowly so your mother doesn't see you rushing; she'd surely call you a slob then and you don't have enough mental power to handle that. Keep your eyes down. Don’t think about her burning gaze settling on you as you ate. It's a sure way to get her fired up again and you're already a bit late in heading off to school. No need to make it longer.

Though maybe the universe has it out for you because she doesn't need any eye contact to begin her earlier rant again.

“You see how the rice taste?” You heard her say as she always did: stern and judgmental.

You nod, your eyes firmly locked on to your half-empty breakfast.

"Good. Remember that next time. Dinner last night was a shame. The rice was too crunchy and the fish was soggy; nothing like how I've taught you. Or tried to teach you at least.”

Breakfast is flavorless on your tongue now and your stomach doesn't want you to take another bite. But you ate and ate until the bowl was clean. It's no sooner that you finish that you hop up from your seat and head off to school before your mother can bring up anything else to remind you that you're not good enough.

And that's your usual morning. Monotonous. Repetitive. Same as always.

However, just as you pack your lunch, you find something different: there's already one prepares, a sticky note attached to it. ‘ _Have a good day!’_ It says. An ugly looking smiley face accompanies it.

It brings a smile to your face.

You pack your special bento- it was always special coming from your brother because it was him and he's busy enough- and head off the school.

"Hi [Name]!" Little Riku greets you as you pass by. There's a sniffle in his voice and his nose is red, telling you that he's staying home today. Lucky little guy.

You wave at your little neighbor. "That's a mean sniffle you got there, little man," You say softly. "Sounds like you should be in bed."

"I was," He replies back, cheerful despite the visible paleness of his skin. "But okaa-san said I could play outside for a bit. Then I have to take my medicine." He grumbles and you let out a small chuckle at the pout on his face.

"It's not so bad," You say just before you head off again. "Think of it like this: The sooner you get better, the sooner we can finish that story from the other day."

Your compromise seems to have done the trick. His eyes grow wide and the pout on his face blooms into a smile.

"Can I draw the ninja this time?" He asks with a grin.

"Only if you listen to your mom and take your medicine. Otherwise, I'll get sick too, and then we'll both be stuck inside." You say as you finally take your leave.

You hear him shout in glee as you round the corner and it's as infections as it sounds. Hopefully, he keeps his word; his mother will need all the help she can get with that little rascal. Though he can be a bit of a pain to babysit, he's a sweet kid despite his rowdiness.

It's a sunny day out. The air is warm, but the gentle breezes were the personifications of the clouds above: soft as they brushed against your arms. It was quite a lucky feat of weather, in your opinion. You were not a fan of the heat, but today wasn’t too unbearable.

Your mother liked to say it was because your body was so accustomed to the cool air conditioning inside the house that the outside world was too strong for your soft skin. You thought that was bullshit but you knew better than to talk back to her.

The sidewalk was busy as you walked to school, your tiny form lost in a sea of business suits and busybodies going about their day. It was loud- as one should expect- a symphony of noise blaring all around you; the beeps of the cars to the chatter of the people next to you to even the small dog barking across the street. Luckily, your earbuds blocking out most of it.

Ah, the wonders of technology.

You were just lucky you remembered to change them last night. You were full of luck today, it seems. If only it could add to something more than good weather and great remembering skills. Like, you know, a way to not sweat under your uniform in a way that you could blame on the sun and not the sea of people around you. Or a way to make your mother proud of you rather than belittle you about getting better grades or doing a decent job at something as simple as cooking. 

It was a good thing your brother had joined you for breakfast. It was a rarity for him since he's always busy, but it just makes you cherish your time together more. He was, after all, the best brother. The best in the world. If only he were home more often though…

School looms in the distance; a bland building beside so many other bland buildings. You don't hear any bells ringing and a sigh escapes you. At least you don't have to worry about being late. Calculus is hard enough without being five minutes late. It's not like you know anyone in your class to take any notes.

...And that sounded sadder than it actually is.

It's not that you didn't have any friends, it's just that... you didn't have any friends. Or anyone to call a friend. It always felt difficult talking to people and it only grew worse with your mothers... critique. Though it's not to say you don't try, it's just harder than you thought. Besides, who wants a friend who's fifty percent sarcastic comments and the other fifty percent low self-esteem. Surely not anyone you know.

Okay, enough thinking brain. Ugh, it's too early in the morning for these kinds of thoughts. Especially since you were going to be in a place full of people for hours on end.

Some people called this place boring. Some called it hell. You just called it school because, well, there was no need to describe it since it already personified all of those qualities.

Though school was looking particularly hellish today just by the entrance alone; the front doors were crowded by flocks of cliques and friendship groups hogging the yard. And not to mention loud. 

Good thing you have your earbuds. Oh, how lucky you are….

It's hard work to get past the hordes of student milling around; girls incline against pillars while guys lean back against the doors, acting out facades of stereotypes and whatnot. It doesn’t help to hear the cutesy giggles than come from the endless horde nor the loud brash laughter full of smugness that disrupts the music playing in your ears. And it especially doesn't help to be so aware of everybody all around you.

But you deal with this every morning, so much so you know where to step so you don’t step on feet and have to stutter an apology or accidentally elbow someone’s side and have to somehow hide the inevitable red ears.

It must truly be a lucky day because none of those things happen and you successfully make it inside the school. And that's when school actually starts the same it always does: boring, tedious, and dull. 

_Very_ dull.

Classes zone on. Lessons are taught. Your pencil moves across the page in a steady rhythm; write, write, break, doodle in the corner, doodle some more, figure out where the lesson is, and repeat.

Honestly, by the time class ends and lunch arrives, your notes look more like a sketchbook than actual notes. Good thing your mother doesn't step that far because then she would surely flip. You can just imagine what she would say...

_“Drawing? You're meant to be learning in school, not wasting time with art. Honestly, you need to grow up and start taking school more seriously; look at your brother! He’s a good doctor and provides for the family. Be more like him!”_

A doctor? Psh, as if. 

Let’s face the facts: You weren’t the smartest in class- at average at least- and becoming a doctor was the least of your preferences. Science was a chore and math was even worse, not to mention your language skills.

Besides, sketching in your notebook felt much better than solving formulas- and much simpler.

Draw a circle, get the idea down. Make sure not to make it too dark or the base form will be too ineligible. Then comes the soft pencil strokes slowly bringing the doodle to life. The head is the first to take shape, followed by a long nose and wonky ovals for ears. Then, tiny paws appear with a small fat body and skinny tail. 

The doodle is a messy scrawl of shapes, but the mouse looking up at you makes it all worth it because it looks cute and simple and _just right._

Be a doctor she says. How can you when the mouse in front of you tells you something else?

Then you notice the tiny circle of cheese next to the little guy and maybe, just maybe, the mouse is also telling you to actually eat lunch. And as odd as that sounds, your stomach doesn't think so.

You shove your notebook to the side and replace it with your special bento box. The sticky note is surprisingly intact. 

You smile, even though you've already seen the note. Still, that doesn't stop the warmth blooming inside your chest as you mentally thank your brother; for a guy as busy as him, the small sediment is practically gold. And it's more than you deserve. 

Voices drift past your ears as you finally dig into your lunch. You kind of preferred the quiet, but you've long since gotten used to the constant chatter. By now, it's a mere ripple that barely rocks your boat. Sure, it's a slight annoyance, but it’s a sound that's become tolerable; a consistency of gossip that never ends and never begins. It just… is; it was school after all and that was what teenagers did: gossip. Everyone. 

But you.

“….And did you hear?” You hear Samiko whisper in an exaggerated voice. “Apparently Taiju was gonna try and confess again. I’m not sure why since that sweet girl can do better but apparently, it’s happening. Again. You can just see it in his eyes…”

“Really?” Himiko practically shouts back, despite being two seats away from her. So much so that you have to lean back for them to talk. It’s a hassle to eat but you don’t mind. You’re friends after all.

“Yeah, and I heard it’s happening after school!” There’s a gush in Samiko’s voice. She must be excited.

You're not normally one for gossip, but it's nice to feel included. Also, your brother apparently thinks you have no friends and you really want to shove that notion right up his ass. And give him the finger but he might just laugh that off like always. As great of a brother as he is, his subtle nagging can get annoying.

Still....

_'Try to make some friends today, alright?'_

“How do you know?” You whisper because that seems like a good way to join a conversation. Right?

Samiko's wide brown eyes slide over to meet your [fc] eyes. “Well… " She starts uneasily. "Because you can just tell! Izumi said she saw him all fired up and energetic this morning.”

Himiko shakes off her own surprise by letting out a squeal. It's not nice on your ears.

"Really?! Oh my gosh, what he actually does confess today? Oh! They're going to be such a cute couple!"

Samiko's eyes are back on Himiko’s, torn away from yours faster than you realized. You try to lean forward to be included but they already take up so much space on your desk that the chance is futile. Himiko, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to notice your attempt at joining in, since she’s already chattering on like a woman on a mission. 

"Oh, oh! Let me check my messages!"

She pulls out her smartphone, bright pink with silly stickers all over it. It has a screen bright enough to outburn the sun.

“Hmm, well…. Tachirou hasn’t said anything …. And there's nothing in any group chats… Any bidding pots yet?”

“Of course!” Samiko shouts but quiets down least she brings the teacher's wrath. “Of course,” She repeats, softer this time. “I already betted 1000 yen.”

“For which side? I really hope today is the day but...!”

“Nah, he won’t. He didn’t for the last five years and he won’t now.”

“Yeah. You're probably right, Samiko….”

“Maybe he will…” The words are soft and hesitant on your tongue. “You never know…”

  
  
Samiko and Himiko look at you again and your ears burn. 

Did you say something wrong? You didn't think so; your friends may have different opinions than you about today but... everyone seemed so against this 'Taiju' person actually going forward and confessing and, you don't know, wanted at least someone on his side. Even though you know your opinion doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of high school gossip. 

Still, their wide eyes make you fidget in your seat. You can feel your cheeks burning now, and you try to ignore it. Unsuccessfully.

“Well…. Um... I guess so..”

Samiko is cut off by the bell and suddenly, the girls are gone. They’re off like a whirlwind, backpacks bouncing off their backs as they jump from their seats. They leave in such a rush that you have no choice but to blink and... that's it. You barely have time to process and when you do, you sigh. In comes from deep within your chest and out in a gust of air, dragging stones and bricks and heavy bits along with it. It doesn't lessen the begrudging failure you can feel under your skin, settling inside your bones, and clustering your brain, but it does remind you where trying gets you.

So much for that.

And then, a new voice pipes up.

"Wow. They sure left in a hurry."

Your head whips around at the sudden voice, your [fc] hair whipping your face in the process. You hadn't heard anyone behind you- you were in the last seat of the class- and, quite frankly, you didn't know why anyone was behind you. 

Not that you don't have any friends. Nope. Cause you did- a hundred percent. Yep. Totally.

Still, it doesn't stop the sweat from leaking out of your palms nor the small squeak you let out at the sight of one Yuzuriha Ogawa.

Embarrassment floods out of you like a tidal wave, and the immediate fluster you can already feel blooming all over you like hives does not help at all. Because one, you didn't know she was there and or had heard all of what Samiko and Himiko had said and two, you fucking squeaked.

_Squeaked_. In public. Like a weirdo.

Man. So much for making friends.

Yuzuriha, however, either doesn't care or ignores that second of total humiliation because she smiles at you. Actually smiles at you instead of laughing, which is what you entirely deserve after that whole fiasco.

Today really is a lucky day.

"Sorry," She apologizes. Actually apologizes. "I didn't mean to startle you, it's just..."

"Those girls are total assholes.."

And if this day couldn't get any weirder, then it had. Yuzuriha isn't an ounce of ashamed for the words that left her mouth. In fact, she looks proud of it.

Still...

"Um, Samiko and Himiko aren't really that bad. They just... had to leave early..." Even you don't believe your own words but you have to at least try to defend the two girls. That's what friends do, right? 

"Of course," Yuzuriha says, nodding at your obviously fake sentiment. "They probably have a club to go to."

Well. If your weak defense sounded as fake as it felt, then the hidden scorn lacing her words was just as noticeable.

"Yeah..." You say because the silence is getting awkward and you really don't know what to say right now. Should you leave? Is that appropriate? Or maybe just... turn back around. That feels kind of rude though- but this conversation is going nowhere and you know it and-

"Hey," She says, snapping you back to reality. " What's that?"

You follow her gaze to your notebook shoved to the side of your desk and... oh. It's open. And your mouse is in full view.

Your reaction is immediate.

"Oh!" You squeak. _Again_. "I-it's nothing! Just a random doodle I did in class and it's nothing special and-"

"It's cute!"

Yuzuriha says it with such confidence that you can't help but gawk at her. Your ugly, little mouse? _Cute?_

"Yeah!" She replies and oh my god you spoke out loud- "It's super adorable! I've got to show it to Taiju later today. You can show it to Senku too but he doesn't really bother with that kind of stuff.."

Wait. Hold the phone. Stop the press. 

"What." It's a statement rather than a question. Who's Senku? And did she just say Taiju? The same one that was planning on confessing to a girl he liked for five years?

"Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself." She says as if you didn't already know her. You may not know many people, but you do have ears and the local oaf that keeps tripping over his feet for a polite, kind girl is all over everyone's radar. 

"My name is Yuzuriha Ogawa." She holds out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

You stare at her hand for a second before remembering that manners exist and you hastily grab her hand with your slightly sweaty ones.

"[N-name.]" You stutter out, still not quite sure how exactly you got here in this situation. But you must be doing something right because Yuzuriha smiles, teeth flashing and eyes sparkling.

"You know," She begins. "I've actually been meaning to introduce myself for a while now. I guess now is as good of a moment as ever."

Her? Introduce herself to you? What could possibly give anyone in their right minds the idea of: "Hey! Let's go talk to the quiet kid that sits in the back! They'll make a good friend."

Because let's face it: you're not too talkative, you're barely passing your classes, and you spend more time with a pencil as a friend than an actual person. You're not exactly the most popular type either and barely anyone knows your name; you've heard people mention you before. They call you "mouse," ironically enough.

So to hear someone actually say they want to meet you is, well, pretty strange. And it's not something you can't help but point out.

"Why?" You ask, a part of you hoping you didn't sound too rude and another part full of suspicion and trepidation.

Yuzuriha taps her cheek. "Well, at first, I was kind of worried. Saiko and Himiko aren't exactly the...most well-intentioned people and I didn't want them to take advantage of you. And also..." She pauses and a bashful expression filters onto her face. "You seemed so shy and I wasn't sure how to approach you. Whenever I see you, you're always drawing something and I didn't want to bother you."

Oh. You... never thought of that. You knew you were shy, sure, but you never realized anyone else noticed. Usually, when people are quiet, barely anyone pays them any peace of mind, much less the time of day; it makes you wonder if anyone had ever even noticed you before. 

Now you know someone had.

"Oh." You repeat. "Um, thank you."

It gets quiet. You fiddle with your pencil, tapping the lead against the edge of the seat. Yuzuriha seems to be thinking about.. something but you're not that experienced with people to know what and... now you're not exactly sure where to go from here. You never thought you'd make it this far, much less have an actual conversation with someone that wasn't your mother or brother.

"Um," Yuzuriha looks over at you and you successfully manage not to cower away. Your eyes, however, can't help but dart nervously away from hers. "Who are, um, Taiju and, uh, Senku?"

"Oh." She brightens up. "Those are my friends. Good friends even. Taiju is nice though he can be a bit loud at times and Senku is a genius, but if he asks you to help out- don't. You'll basically be a slave and you do not want to know how heavy a gas turbine can be." She rubs her arms mournfully at this part.

A part of you wonders how she knows how heavy a turbine is and another part questions why she would even be carrying one in the first place. You don't think you want to know.

She must have seen something on your face- acne most likely- because she's quick to add. "And I didn't mean to, um, force you to meet them. It's just... I want you to meet them. If you want to. If you're not doing anything also. And if you are, I don't know, okay with that?"

"But why?" The words shock you as they pass your lips. You hadn't meant to be so forward, but the bewildered confusion bouncing around in your skull is stronger than any politeness at the moment.

"Because I want to be your friend." 

It's said so surely, so bluntly, that every thought inside your brain is subsequently out of commission and off the rails.

You're... not sure if that was supposed to say. But you can't deny the surprise because she's inviting you to meet her friends. You, the quiet person. You, the shy kid. You, the most average, non-genius student here.

Today is certainly not normal or boring or monotonous. It's something new. And completely nerve-wracking.

Already, you can feel your nerves causing a frenzy. Furthermore, is it getting hot in here? And why are you sweating so much? Maybe you should decline. Tell her: "Maybe another time."

_'Try to make some friends today, alright?'_

But then you hear your brother's words and well, you did say you'd try...

"Um, sure?" You mumble and Yuzuriha proceeds to stare at you.

You try to ignore the redness in your face as you squirm in your seat. On second thought, maybe you should have declined...

"Cool!" She shouts and suddenly, you're pulled halfway out of your seat. Your hands, previously drumming a pencil randomly on the back of your chair, are trapped in a firm grip. "You'll like them, I promise. They're not mean or anything so you don't have anything to worry about. Well, Senku can be pretty blunt, but he doesn't mean anything bad. But if he accidentally is, tell me and I'll set him straight. Okay?"

You nod because it's the only thing you can do at this point. What has this day become? Is this friendship? Are you actually getting more than one friend? What the hell. What is today...

Before you know it, you're dragged out of your seat. You barely have time to shove your notebook and bento box into your untidy bag. Your feet somewhat manage the basic function called standing and you're pretty sure your head is still spinning.

But you find out, surprisingly, that you don't mind.

Yuzuriha is a smiling presence at your side and even if she had sort of manhandles you out of your seat... you find that you don't mind. At all.

It's actually... nice to have a conversation with her. Or more so, listening to her talk about what happened in algebra or what experiment this Senku person used to burn the lab sink- should you be worried?- or even about what kind of lunch she had.

And then she asks you: "You want to walk to the station with me?" 

You're utterly astounded for the umpteenth time that day by how enjoyable it is talking to someone else that's not your brother. Someone that doesn't take note of everything you do like your mother. And someone that's not Samiko and Himiko and one who doesn't gossip like everyone else. 

It's nice.

Entirely, absolutely, wholly nice.

But before you have time to even think about answering, she makes a quizzical noise.

"Huh," She says suddenly and you turn to see her looking at her smartphone. Her screen illuminates the puzzlement on her face. "That's odd."

You tilt your head in question. What is?

Yuzuriha spares the conversation she's having one more look. She still looks perplexed, but there's a smile on her face when she looks back at you. "Hey, Taiju said he wants to talk to me in the courtyard real quick. You don't mind waiting by the entrance for a bit, do you?"

"Uh, sure." is what you say. But internal panic is what you feel.

Because you're about to walk to the station. With an actual person and or friend.

As soon as Yuzuriha walks around the corner of the entrance steps to the courtyard, you do a mental checklist of your current appearance.

It's practically routine at this point; with a mother like yours, it's become a habit to verify your out-worldy look. Preferably before you arrive home. But now, it feels even more drastic because- for as stupefying as it is- Yuzuriha wants to walk to the station with you and you do not want to make a bad impression. On who? The world, for the most part. Your mother but that's a given. Oh, and whoever walks by to see such a nice girl walking with a disaster of a person.

Which is, sadly, how you look at the moment: a disaster. A tragedy. A failure in keeping yourself together.

Because you most certainly aren't.

A messy head of hair on your head and a wrinkled uniform greet you. Your [length] hair falls in disorderly strands across your forehead, a consequence of your earlier tardiness. Your uniform, white and navy, is wrinkled and the shirt is untucked, boggling you cause you really don't know a shirt can untuck itself...

Then you see the pencil smudges decorating the sleeves of your white shirt. On your fingers. Smeared on your arms...

“Oh shit,” You breathe to yourself. “Mom’s gonna kill me.”

Most likely scold you. But probably kill you. 

You can already hear her....

_'Just look at yourself? All dirtied like a child playing outside and all untidy as if you didn't have a proper mother to make sure you walked out of here decently and modestly. Oh, what will the neighbors think? What will your future professors think? Being seen in such a state, acting as if you didn't know how to even dress. When will you ever get anything right?'_

You sigh. 

You'd like to think this was an exaggeration of the inevitable lecture, but something whispers that maybe it's not such an exaggeration.

After all, your mother request perfection. Excellence. To be good enough.

Sometimes you think you never are. 

Sure, you may have been able to hold a decent conversation with someone, but will it be like this tomorrow? Maybe Yuzuriha took pity on you. Maybe she won't do the same tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe, she and Taiju and whoever this Senku is will realize you're not a good candidate for a friend because you're not talkative enough or funny enough or nice enough or.. or... Good enough.

Huh. So much for today being lucky. Now it just feels like that luck was snatched away, leaving you with only a taste as a reminder of what you could have had.

It's funny how fast things can change; how fast a thought can swing, reminding you of all the problems you still have, and having one potential friend won't change that.

Maybe you should tell her that you'll walk with her another day. Just tell her: "Hey! So I'm having thoughts again and my insecurity is getting bad, so how about you ask me again tomorrow so I can verify that yes, I am my own worst enemy, and that yes, you do want to be my friend. How does that sound?"

Like shit. But better than nothing.

Now to just wait for this 'Taiju' guy to confess to her and...

Oh my god. 

The confession!

You peek your head out from behind the corner for what, you're not sure. 

  
Maybe someone sobbing on the ground. Or a heartfelt confession greeted with a hug or something. Even so, the scene plays out like this:

It starts with a boy and a girl and a tree behind them. The sun shines dying rays that spill across the yellow dirt on the ground. You can’t see Yuzuriha's head from behind the guy's tall stature, and you can't see this 'Taiju's' expression very clearly. But you can tell his shoulders are tense from the way his shoulders ride up to his ears. How his hands are clenched into fist. By the redness peeking from behind his dark, sleek hair.

You can tell he’s nervous, afraid, worried, and….

“A hundred yen says he gets rejected.” You hear from above you.

You’re eyebrow furrow. 

Well. That's rude.

Another student, this time with a deeper voice, pipes in. “Three hundred yen says he gets rejected hard.”

Your lips curl into a frown. 

You look up from your hidey-hole to see the windows of one of the top floors open. Voices drift from the opening and even though you're on the ground floor, their words still make it to your ears.

And you're not liking them.

“Five hundred yen says he gets rejected at full power.” Says another voice and now there’s a grind in your teeth.

Honestly, does no one have anything better to do than bet on a guy’s confession? He’s trying his best, even though he’s scared and nervous and… and…

It clicks then. 

You don't know much about this 'Taiju' guy. You don't even know his last name. But it's easy to figure it out when you're the quiet one. 

You've heard about him and you've heard what people have said: He's strong, but he won't use his strength on others. He's loud enough to be annoying yet at the same time, be branded as a laughing stock. He hangs around with nerds instead of the popular kids. 

You also know that all day, kids had betting on him, laughed at him, mocked him for having feelings for a friend. And that, despite it being a private matter, somehow people knew what today meant. But he's still down there trying.

Trying for five years to tell a girl he loves her.

“Ten thousand yen says he actually doesn’t.” The voice is the one that ignites the fire in your veins. The one that makes you turn your head towards that open window. The one that makes you glare at the green-tipped, white strands barely visible from your place on the ground floor. The one that makes you grit your teeth and state as loudly as you can:

“You can bet your ass he will.”

Because while you don’t know this ‘Taiju’ guy, you hear his nervousness and fear and hesitation and.. and.. he's trying.

Trying to do something despite being mocked for it. Trying even when his chances reek of one failure after another. Trying despite whatever everyone else is saying and doing. Trying to do something that’s scary and nerve-wracking and embarrassing.

Trying: that's what he's doing and still doing even after all these years. Trying and hoping- or never losing it in the first place- to tell someone you love them with all your heart. And if these asshats can’t see that, screw them. Screw Samiko and Himiko. And definitely screw the weird green onion haired guy standing by that window far above you because anxiety be damned, this ‘Taiju’ guy is going to do it.

You expect a head peeking out the window. You expect a suprised "Who said that?" You expect a face to look down at you.

You don't expect the green light. 

The words are barely stale on your tongue when you see the vibrant green racing towards you. On the trees. Spilling over the courtyard. Overpowering the golden rays of the sun.

You almost miss it when it hits you, so fast that you can’t muster up the panic you should be feeling. Because you were supposed to be walking home with a friend today and your clothes are still wrinkly and smudgy and your hair is a mess and so are you and.. and… you were supposed to meet your brother tonight.

There’s a stillness settling over your feet and a scream in your ears. There are rocks growing like weeds up and up and up and chocked sounds of voices swallowed up by.. something. There’s panic in your throat but not enough time to get it out because your teeth are grinding and so it festers inside like it always does.

You shake, yank, move in your stone prison but you’re being devoured. Eaten. Swallowed up in the cocoon of rocks. It’s only then that you realize: you can’t hear anything outside. No chatter of students. No tweets of birds. No cars honking. No… no anything. Not even your heartbeat.

Something falls out of your hands with a thud. Pages spill open. A box dents on the ground. A sticky note with a smiley face looks up at you. 

All you can do is look. Look at that same sky you've seen every day. Look up into the vast blueness above you. Look into that blue depth and realize ‘how pretty' all the wispy clouds are. Look and say with your final breath full of panic and shaking hands: “Huh.”

Then it’s dark. 

Then, you’re stone.


	2. Mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you wake from the stone, the world is new.
> 
> One your brother isn't in. One your mother isn't in.
> 
> You don't know how to feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second part of the og first chapter, but i split it cuz it was kinda long and i din't want to put u guys through that.
> 
> Edit: Hi! It's me, the author, from the future! I added a bit of revision cuz I totally forgot to edit a part but it's fixed now. Have a good day!

You don’t know how long you’re in there for.

You don’t know how long it’s been. Seconds tick by, Minutes. Hours. Days. Months. Years.

Your time is foggy in this prison. 

What day was it? You couldn’t tell in your solitude of darkness. Darkness that tasted like grit on your dry tongue, smelled like coarse sand and earthy dirt filling your nose, and looked like the embodiment of the infinite night sky past all the stars and planets and moons.

There’s no sunlight to tell you if it’s day nor moonshine to tell you if it’s night. No stars twinkling and no wispy clouds decorating the blue sky. It’s nothing, an infinite vacuum that tasted of emptiness despite your current occupancy.

It’s lonely too. 

You don’t hear the voice of an irritated mother booming from downstairs. You can’t hear your alarm clock blaring you a good morning nor the chatter of early morning commuters on the streets. There’s no students chatting and no Samiko and Himiko gossiping in front of you. There’s no Yuzuriha talking to you after class.

There’s no older brother telling you he’ll be home for dinner and no way to tell him you made an actual friend.

You don’t think you’ll be able to make it in time for dinner.

It’s a sad attempt at a joke and a part of you wants to laugh, but this obscurity encasing you keeps dragging you back under. Into the memories of the past full of expectations and failure and a tied down leash dragging your hand away from a pencil and a notebook.

A part of you wants to know what’s it like outside this personification of your internal turmoil. Another part wants to stay buried under the fog that keeps burying you; it helps you forget the confusion of ‘What day is it?” and the anxiety of ‘What year is it?’ and the worse question that whispers nonstop inside your brain: _‘Are you still alive, nee-san?’_

Maybe that’s why you like this dissociation you find yourself in. Maybe it’s also why you don’t hear the stone cracking nor the taste of air until your eyes are filled with bright white and you’re falling, falling, falling….

Strong hands circle around your arm and the whiplash of this sudden stopped motion has knotted, dirtied hair whipping you in your face.

You gasp- in and out- the air you hadn't realized you missed. It tastes as sweet as surgery honey. As refreshing as cold water. As tasty as a warm meal. It feels like every comfort and every solitude you’ve ever received and oh, god, when was the last time you tasted air?

The white light has died by now, revealing beyond the curtain a bright blue sky. And that’s not all. 

Grass, trees, forest covers every inch of the ground. Vines tangle on the tree trunks and drape over low hanging branches. Birds, chirping and tweeting, sing from a distance and it sounds like every beautiful tune you’ve heard in any song and any instrument you’ve strummed. It sounds like the personification of harmony.

Then you notice the hand around your arm. That’s when you see a man, long dark hair drapped over bulky shoulders and a coat of fur, staring down at you with sharp eyes.

Panic rises to life within your chest and it's not a feeling you’ve missed; the fluttering sheer of adrenaline coursing through your veins as fire pools into your blood in fright. It has your brain screaming, body reacting, and your feet stumbling back in a moment of alarm.

But the hand around your arm tightens its hold and you're left jerking in place.

“My apologies,” The man rumbles and it surprises you by how pleasant his voice it despite his appearance. “I hope I haven’t frightened you. My name is Tsukasa and 3,700 years have passed since the world has turned to stone.”

Tsukasa.

Something clicks. A lightbulb blinks to life. A moment of clarity washes over you.

Tsukasa. You know that name; it's a name everyone at school whispers about. It's a name all the boys admire and all the girls gush over. It's a name that makes people say: "The Strongest High School Primate."

Then you notice he's not the only one here. 

There's another man standing next to him, a dark cape draped over him. A dark mask covers his mouth, making it hard to read his expression, but his eyes are just as sharp.

And.... you're confused. You're nervous. You're terrified. But mostly confused so, of course, the only thing to come out of your mouth is: “Huh.”

What a way to start the day.

But Tsukasa merely huffs, as if unhumored- go figure- by your blunt statement but accepts it nonetheless. At least you hope.

The man by his side merely stays silent. You definitely know he's not amused by you.

“I revived you because I need help. You see, this place- this stone world- has been untamed for thousands of years. Years without a label or ownership from the cruel that had controlled it all those years ago. So in this new stone world, I have decided to build an empire fit for the ones shackled in restraint for too long. Ones pure and innocent. And now that you’re free, I ask of you: Will you join my empire?”

And… you don’t know what to say.

Your mouth feels parched, your tongue a useless lump in your mouth. Your eyes are dry yet watery from the bright sun above. Your knees feel weak and your legs feel like they’ll give out from the zero amount of work you didn't do. Useless body, being all weak after a 3,700 old nap.

Still, Tsukasa looks down at you and you realize for the first time: You’re free.

Free from expectations. From the shackles of a mother and her lashing words. From a brother and the expectancy to be just as great.

You're... _free._

You breathe in and out and it's as if a weight has dropped from your shoulders. There's... no more need to feel ashamed for not being the best in class. No more self-hatred and doubt about not doing as well as your mother wanted you to. No more mediocre grades about science and math and literature to remind you how much better you could be at something you didn't understand. No more staring at a notebook filled with doodles and thinking: _"I'm not good at anything and I never will be."_

You nod and the smile he gives you makes you think maybe this can be a new start.

Maybe now, you'll finally be able to be good enough at something. 

Maybe... maybe you'll find out what freedom taste like.

"Ah, forgive me,"Tsuasa syas suddenly just as you all turn to leave. "What's your name?"

Your name. [Name.]

A name linked to the past. To before when a mother nagged you for being everything you never were. To when you didn't have any friends. To when you were nothing. 

And in this new world, maybe you cold be something.

What was it your brother called you?

* * *

As the two men lead you away from the small canopy you had somehow ended up at, a sharp point pokes your foot. You yelp and stamper away from the offending object.

Ouch! What the heck was that?

You look down.

A stone eye looks back at you.

The eye is wide, eyelid pulled up and muscle lines engraved in a perfect replica of human anguish. Pieces of shards are grey dust scattered on the green foliage. Cracks mare the edges of the eye and you see a tiny fracture slicing through the middle. 

Suddenly, freedom doesn't taste as sweet.

* * *

  
The days after that are filled with grueling work and harsh survival.

It turns out, you were not the first to be resurrected by Tsukasa but that doesn't mean surviving isn't any less harder. You're not sure if that makes you lucky or not. 

You thought it was hard living enough before the world turned to stone. Oh, how wrong you were. Very wrong.

Building an empire, it turns out, is not easy. Not even close. Wood needs to be collected. Materials need to be found. Food needs to be harvested. Animals need to be hunted. It's a simple list, but the execution is another story.

An execution that requires each member to contribute in some way; a given in the world you live in today. Everyone must find a way to be useful, to be beneficial to the 'Empire of Might,' as Tsukasa calls it. Needless to say, you were not one to be called "athletic" in the past, so it's safe to say you aren't now. Luckily, you don't need to be a hunter nor have any skill with a needle to be useful. The labor you could contribute and the harvest you could find in this new wilderness was just as necessary.

Though just because you were given the task doesn’t mean you’re good at finding the right kind of mushrooms nor do you know which one is actually edible. In fact, navigating through the dense forest is just as hard.

Shoes were one of the first things- or thing, really- you were given when you first arrived at the camp that was to be Tsukasa's colony. They weren't the best and the hide they were made of was uncomfortable and thinner than the socks from before, but they made walking a bit more bearable. 

That didn't mean it stopped the jagged ends of sticks from poking you nor the prickly berry bushes from stinging. 

Or the broken pieces of stone faces you find scattered on the forest grounds. The crumbled forms of people still trapped the panicked states. The expressions still perfectly preserved in the rock despite erosion and age.

You try not to look at them, especially the faces.

Either way, the shoes aren't the only obstacle in your path. The forest is another story. In another genre. On another reading level.

First off, the forests of today look extremely different from the forests of before; they're bigger, and denser, and more diverse than anything you had seen on tv or, well, outside. The trucks, for one, are huge; the roots are gigantic and, surprisingly, easily tower over you despite the fact that roots grow underneath the tree. In the ground. Below you.

And that's not all: The leaves may look normal, but contrary to its’ leafy appearance, they are sturdy as hell. You may or may not know that because you were possibly smacked by one. It’s not pleasant, especially with the stone fragments of arms or legs hiding underneath them.

You began to avoid leaves after that.

Either way, trees and leaves are nothing to the danger lurking in the depths of the forest. One of them is the actual vegetation itself.

You were never a survivalist or a gardener to begin with, so to learn that certain mushrooms and berries should not be put in your mouth was certainly insightful. And, it turns out, that there are more probable edible plants out there than you realized; the only ones you knew about were the ones your mother shopped for at the market. 

If only it weren't a double-edged sword, because while knowing that useful fact is helpful, it does nothing to tell you which plants are good to eat or not. Nor does it help with actually harvesting the wild vegetation.

The looks the women collecting your batch of mangled mushrooms made you feel just as useless as a lecture from your mother.

Your mother.

You never realized you could miss your mother. Or her nagging scolding. Or her cooking, especially her katsudon.... 

Either way, the poisonous plants aren't your only problem: it's the animals out there. You never see them, and that's possibly a good sign, but you can hear them. If you stand still enough, you can hear the distance crunching of branches and leaves. If you walk fast enough, you can make out the dark flash of fur or the snap of a twig. And if you hold your breath long enough, you can make out the occasional wispy growls echoing from the forests' depth.

It's not a comfort to know that something is out there, something most certainly stronger than your noodly arms, but it is a comfort to know it's just as unsure of you as you are of it. You would've been eaten by now if that weren't true.

It's a small comfort, but it's a comfort nonetheless.

And on the topic of comfort, you're happy to learn that your exploration of the forest is getting easier, if only by just a bit. It's been a few weeks since you've been resurrected- or maybe it's been a month? It's hard to keep track when days start to blur and there's no calendar to remind you when your latest project is due or what days your brother is doing the night shift at the hospital...

Nonetheless, it's getting easier to remember which path to take, which root to avoid, and which tree has the safest mushrooms. 

You still see that flash of dark fur in the nearby foliage but you tell yourself not to worry. If it was a dangerous creature, it would have attacked you by now for sure. Hopefully. 

Still, it’s okay because you’re surviving and you're a part of a community with people and that’s a feat in and of itself because you hadn’t expected to live this long. Living in an age where everyone is stone and civilization is nonexistent doesn't give you- someone born with technology and science- much of a chance. And, well, you've never been a people-person, but having people around truly does help fight those odds. 

You don't have to worry about food shortages, for one, and it's convenient to have help looking for any wild vegetables, for two. And having someone watch you're back is nice too because it's hard to keep track of what plants you've missed or where that darn predator is when you're too busy looking at stone fragments that keep getting stuck in your shoes...

Also speaking of people, you're surprised to see how many people have been revived.

What was once a small community was now a thriving empire; it’s been a few- weeks, months- since you’ve been resurrected now and by now, Tsukasa's Empire is now almost twenty people strong. There’s plenty of intimidating figures and, surprisingly, full of similar characters: strong, athletic builds. There are some lanky characters, but they're able to hold their own surely. You, on the other hand, are a lost cause.

Either way, soon enough, the Empire turns into a combative force full of brute strength and numbers. It’s a good thing, of course; people resurrecting is a good thing. It means civilization is coming back and people are coming back.

It’s good. Great even.

It still doesn't stop the tension you feel building in your shoulders, bubbling under your skin, welling inside your chest. It doesn't stop the anxiety you feel when you see so many people milling around the community nor the nervousness thrumming when you have to interact with the small group of people joining you in gathering.

"Ugh, it's so fucking hot today." A girl in front of you bemoans. Which is surprising because with her calves, you'd be stunned if she _didn't_ regularly go running. "Man, I can't wait until the farm is finished. I really hate all this treasure hunt crap."

Another girl walking beside her snorts. She doesn't have the same build as the other girl, but she doesn't have broad shoulder. Lucky her. "That's because it takes you away from your precious Haruto, isn't that right?"

You watch as the girl's light hair whips around the face the other girl. "T-that's not true!" She shouts with crimson cheeks. "I just hate all this walking is all. I mean, why look for stupid plants when hunting is a thing."

"Uhu." The second girl says, her dark eyes rolling. "Tell yourself that while you get cholesterol. I, in the meantime, am definitely missing Kaito right now."

Ah. Gossip. You definitely didn't miss that. Not even a little. 

You always thought it was too... unnecessary, especially at high school. But what do you know? Last you checked, you're the quiet kid; the kid as quiet as a mouse and as forgettable as one too. What do you know about gossip?

Still, it was one of the least important things in your life then and it still is now. No. What you do miss, what was important to you, was your mother and your brother and the dinners you shared. What was important was the warm meals and the sound of your brother's boisterous laughter while your mother bickered about chewing first and talking second and... and...

You miss it. You miss them...

A twig snaps and you break away from those thoughts.

There's something wet creeping its way out of the corner of your [fc] eyes and- no. No. No tears. No... no nothing. You're just... rubbing the sweat out of your eyes. That's all.

"Really?" You hear the light-haired girl, and you don't miss the way she noisily steps on a twig branch. "I thought you two were "just friends." At least, that's what you told me yesterday."

"Eh. It was useless to wait anyways. Besides, I need something to do now that I don't have to worry about any past exes or paying rent. God, my landlord was such an ass. And an old hag."

The light-haired girl bends over and throws a measly mushroom into her tiny basket. "That I can agree on. My mom was such a pain. It was always 'Do this!' or 'Go help your grandmother bathe!' Like, no thank you but did I have a choice? No, because it was always 'This is my house!' and 'You're my daughter, so do as I say!' Man, I hated it when she said that. It's a good thing she's not here anymore. Now I can have some peace and quiet."

"Preach to that." The dark-eyed girl agrees. And then she trips. Quite noisily, if you might add.

When she lands, tall grass is tangled around her feet and snapped branches full of bushy leaves half-bury her under their rubble. Her basket, previously situated in her arms, is a broken mess next to her, and the measly herbs she had found lay dirtied on the ground. You can't see what tripped her, but it must have hurt if her pissed off expression is anything to go by.

"Ouch! Fuck!" She loudly exclaims as if there weren't any predators in this wild. "What the fuck was that?"

The light-haired girl scrambles to her side. You, on the other hand, stand there startled, head swerving left to right because one, you really hope her screaming hasn't drawn any wild animals and two, you really hope there aren't any predators around. Rabbits and such are fine, but you'd rather not find out what that dark flash of fur you keep seeing is.

"Are you okay- Woah." The puzzlement in the light-haired girl's voice has you snapping out of your startled panic. You look over at her, half-hoping it's not an animal or a poison berry or something.

Luckily, it's not.

"Huh," The light-haired girl says as she pokes the broken stone statue with an unveiled curiosity. "Is that what I looked like covered in all that rock? Man, this is kinda freaky."

"You look freaky," The dark-eyed girl mutters as she stands up, failing in dusting off the grass stains off her hide-based shorts. But she looks intrigued all the same. "Though I have to agree it is a little weird looking. It actually kind of looks like my old landlord."

The "landlord" is an old woman, her face half crushed under the growing tree roots. Her legs are missing and only one part of her arm is still attached to her short, round body. But her expression is perfectly preserved despite being only half a face; her eyes, wide and wrinkly, and her thin lips open in an eternal scream.

Despite what the dark-eye girl had said, this old lady looks nothing more than what she perceives as such at a first glance: a sweet, old lady who still cooks for her kids despite them being grown and out of the house. An old lady who you wouldn't mind knowing, even if she was a landlady.

A harmless, old landlady.

But the dark-eyed girl seems to have another idea about the stone old woman.

The grin she sports is anything but innocent and anticipation flutters to life within you. You don't like to look on her face. Maybe you should speak up. Tell them those herbs won't pick themselves.

"Hey, guys..." You say softly. "Maybe we should get going...."

"Hey. Ever wanted to know what's inside one of these things?" 

The light-haired girls looks over at the other, her eyes bright and you really don't like the look on their faces.

"No," She replies. " I actually haven't."

And then she's grinning too and now that small sprout of anticipation is in full bloom.

Your mouth feels too dry to speak. Your body is a humming cascade of jitteriness. Your palms are sweating a storm and the inevitable sensation of crawling ant climbs all over you.

You're a shaking, nervous wreck of a person, but even you know this isn't right. The tone of their voices as they spoke about the past, the look in their eyes as they gazed at the old statue... it wasn't right, no matter how shitty people were back then. 

And yeah, maybe this old lady won't feel a couple of teenagers messing around with her broken legs but still... in the end, this was an actually living person, even if that person was encased in rock and half-broken under the elements of this new world.

So with a bout of nervousness and shaky demeanor, you step forward.

"Hey." You squeak out and you watch as their eyes whip over to meet yours.

"We really need to keep going," You continue, trying to find the proper words to say. And to be honest, you're... not sure what to say. It's not that you don't have anything to say, it's just... don't they feel, you don't know, weird about it all? To know that more than half of humanity is stone and the only ones here are all of you. 

You. Them. And the Empire of Might.

And because of that, doesn't that mean they should maybe be a little nicer to these... stone people? They are, after all, still people in the end. Also, it feels kind of rude to mess with someone's body in, well, any way. Not that you were planning on doing such a thing, but these girls were and that's not exactly a comfortable dilemma you want to witness-

"Oh my god," You hear and you turn towards the light-haired girl.

You expect anger. Annoyance. Maybe even some snapping comments. You don't expect her wide eyes. 

And you don't expect what she says next: "I forgot you were here."

"I.." The dark-eyed girl speaks up. "Were... you here the whole time?"

You blink. Well, _ouch_. That was kind of hurt. And familiar... like how Samiko and Himiko acted towards you sometimes, as if they forgot you existed.

...Huh. Maybe some things do stay the same in this stone world.

"Oh. My god. I can't believe I didn't hear anything at all from you until now. Are you some sort of mute kid or something?" The dark-eyed girl states bluntly and, yep, that wasn't very nice.

And neither is the other girl. 

"Ha ha ha, you're as quiet as a mouse. I didn't know we had anyone else coming along with us..." Okay, now _that_ definitely stung. 

Your mouth flaps open to say... something but one, words were never your strong suit and two, your confidence- and basically your entire existence- is both mortally wounded and eternally ashamed at this entire conversation. Is it too late to delete everything that just happened and act like none of this happened? No? Well.

There's a moment of silence as the three of you gaze at each other. No one talks. No one speaks. No one even attempts to break the awkwardness slowly suffocating all of you and wow, is it getting hot in here?

No. Wait. That's just your embarrassment making itself known by the redness in your face. You really should have just kept your mouth shut...

"Um. So, I'm just going to... go over here. " The dark-eyed girl stiffly stutters, as if she couldn't say it awkwardly enough.

And just to make things worse, the light-haired girl doesn't say anything. Just... speed runs over to the other girl's side and, subsequently, away from you and your terrible social skills. 

The rest of the scavenging is done in silence- well, mostly silence. From you. The two girls are whispering up a storm and you can only guess what that topic is about.

....Actually, you don't want to know.

Anyways, it's sunset by the time you three get back. 

The two girls can't get away from you fast enough and you don't blame them. After that shameful interaction, you'd run away from you too. Man, you can just _imagine_ what your mother would say...

Probably something like _"Is that what you call a conversation? You need to do better than that!"_ or _"Your brother is a better conversationalist than you. Why can't you follow his example?"_

And honestly, you wouldn't argue about anything she would say. Actually, you'd welcome it. Because then, at least she'd be here- living and breathing and talking. And, oh, you always dreaded her scolding, but at least she never gave up on you ar anything; that's what you would have done long ago. But she never did and she reminded you of that every day by critiquing everything you did and when it became too much, your brother was there with that breezy attitude of his. 

And he'd always manage to make the last few minutes of your mother's harshness disappear with his stupid jokes or his nonchalant replies. Then he'd ruffle your [fc] hair and you hated it when he did that, but loved it at the same time. He'd say "Good morning, mouse!" with that cheesy smile because he knew it'll get you riled up

And... and... you miss that.

You miss-

"This is confusing... Why are we here again?" A loud voice booms from somewhere in the open field. 

It's dinner time and the incoming night is loud with muttered chatter. Women and men gather around the nearby bonfire and the smell of sizzling meat wafts into the air.

Everyone looks relaxed and weary after a day of hard work. You hear laughter from among the group settled around the bonfire. You hear someone shout "Hey! Get your own dinner, dude!" and "Sharing is caring, man." 

You hear friends talking and giggling and socializing. And you're just here on your own small patch of grass behind them all. The clay bowl holding your own meal smells delicious, but the aroma is less than appealing at the moment.

The whole fiasco from earlier is still fresh in your mind. Shame fills your belly and currently, there's no room for dinner. Nonetheless, you know you'll have to force yourself to eat eventually. Wasted food isn't an option in this new world.

Maybe you can take small bites. That might make eating easier. Or so you think...

You hear someone frantically whisper... something, but you can't make out the words. It's difficult to hear anything with everyone talking at once. You could try to pinpoint where the loudmouth is but after today's fiasco.... maybe butting into other people's conversation isn't the wisest decision. And also, it's kind of creepy; people already apparently think of you as a mouse- and also, well, not there- and you don't want to give anyone any more things to assume about you.

What!?" The loudmouth shouts again. he should really tone it down; if you can hear him, so can others. "But how are we supposed to-"

"Shhh! Taiju! Not so loud...." And... you know that voice. But it can't be- or, well, it can, but you would have seen her by now. At least, you think so...

Still, if that's Yuzuriha talking and she's been resurrected then maybe...

You hear people laughing around the bonfire. You hear chatter drift from "Not cool, man." to "The meat taste better than yesterdays." You hear friends among friends. 

Something aches in your chest, familiar and yet foreign at the same time. All you know is that is sounds... nice. It reminds you of eating breakfast with your brother. 

Maybe that's why you get up. Maybe that's why you search for Yuzuriha in the crowd. Maybe that's why you walk towards those white headphones visible near the treelines. Maybe, maybe, maybe- whatever the reason is, when you tap her shoulder and she turns to you with a startled look that instantly melts into one of delighted shock.... you smile.

It's a small one. But it's a smile nonetheless.

"Hi." You say.

"Hi." She says. And she smiles back.

* * *

After that, things get a bit better. Not great, mind you, but the exhaustion isn't weighing you down as much. You're starting to eat more as well. And also, scavenging isn't that bad anymore.

The glances those two girls sneak back at you don't bother you as much as they would have in the past. Neither does any odd notion of trying to clear the awkward air still around you three because, well, talking is still not your best subject. And also, you'd rather not try speaking to them again. 

Or ever.

Either way, that's not all; the forest is becoming a familiarity towards you. No longer are the plants so foreign; it's getting easier to see which berry is safe to eat or not. 

But by far, the greatest part is that now you have a friend- two friends. 

Yuzuriha is the same as she was from before; she's kind and nice and, well, pleasant to be around. Conversations aren't so hard- her talking and you listening, of course- and her presence, just as surprising as before, is a friendly one.

Taiju, though not as familiar with you as Yuzuriha, is just as kind. A bit loud but he's got a good heart. You can see from the way he interacts with Yuzuriha; bringing her dinner and sharing the ripe fruit he was able to get from the new farm. He's also incredibly optimistic; he always seems to have a smile on his face despite being out in the sun for hours on end. And he doesn't mind your lack of words either so that's nice.

It's more than nice though, it's kind. Too kind.

It feels like some sort of anomaly; no way people can actually like your quietness. But apparently, people do, so go figure.

It's a warm night out tonight. The stars are vibrant and abundant in the sky; millions of twinkling lights sprinkled on a dark blue canvas. There's a fire roaring in the center of the field and a rowdy group of people laughing and talking. The smell of rabbit soup is everywhere and it is heavenly.

You're sitting on the edge of the crowd, near the treeline. A clay bowl of soup sits next to you, your hands occupied with a chunk of wood steadily getting scrapped by your overgrown nails. 

Yuzuriha sits on your other side, along with Taiju. She's giggling at something Taiju is doing. Probably just realizing how different the meat taste today. You don't blame him; rabbit isn't for everyone.

"Oh, come on. It's not so bad." You hear Yuzuriha laugh. 

"If you say so," Taiju mutters and you can't help but snicker.

You sense more than hear them both perk up.

You try to play it off nonchalantly, clearing your throat while simultaneously fiddling with the woodchuck in your hand. It doesn't work.

"Hey!" Taiju shouts- something you have to get used to. "Did you just laugh?"

"No," You mutter, trying to look busy by scraping an actual shape into your wood piece. But Yuzuriha doesn't buy it.

"Huh. I've never seen you laugh before." She shamelessly says and red blooms on your ears. You hadn't meant to laugh as loud as you did nor did you even mean to in the first place. It's not that you didn't laugh, it's just... you never really had anyone to do so with in the first place. And wow, that sounds kind of pathetic. But that's a constant of your life: disappointments and patheticness. 

But if your red ears weren't enough, she adds- quite frankly: "It sounds cute."

Well, if your face wasn't red before, it's a tomato now.

"Um," You say because apparently, your brain-to-mouth ratio isn't working. And neither are you, for that matter. "I, uh, it's.....not...hmm..."

You decide to stop trying after that. Still, it doesn't do much to stop the evergrowing fluster you feel growing inside you. Gah, why didn't you just keep that stupid laugh inside of you? You should know by now that bringing unnecessary attention only brings nothing but, well, the opposite of good. And right now, the self-embarrassment feels pretty not good.

"Oh, sorry!" You hear Yuzuriha say. "I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I? Sorry! I just thought your laugh was nice is all. Not that you aren't! It's just...It's not bad or anything. Your laugh, I mean."

"It's not... that." You blurt out, face still red and er still burning. Damn, social anxiety... "It's just... the, uh, rabbit. "

Taiju tilts his head, curiosity unashamedly obvious on his face. "The rabbit? In the soup? What about it?"

Your tongue feels heavy when you open your mouth, the words an anchor dropping into the sea. "My mom.... she loved rabbit. I hated it. A lot."

Something twist inside you at those words. It's the pang of a gunshot wound. The sting of a knife stab. The pained breathlessness of a heavy collision. 

Your mom... once, just the sheer mention of her used to make something submissive shiver inside you but now... all you feel is pain. It's in your chest, engraved in your bones, encasing your heart, and in the corner of your eyes. It's something you can feel, but no evidence is present on your physical body. It's something you'd never thought you'd feel for someone who always scolded you and berated you. Someone you'd never thought you could feel anything but nervousness and anxiousness and self-loathing.

But now... all you can think about was her stern eyes and the gruff way she'd say "Good job." after you'd get a good score on your exams. The countless attempts she'd make on you to one day cook something edible, even though you both knew you were- and always- a terrible cook. The hours spent teaching you to sew. The infinite reserve- aka stubbornness- to teach you how to play that old piano you had in the living room...

Your mother was stubborn, strict, overbearing, judgmental all in one. But you miss her....

And your brother...

There's a pain in your chest. Tears prickling your eyes. A tightness in your throat.

Because you miss him too. You miss them both. 

And you wonder, why you and not them? Why are you here, a warm meal and two impossible friends at your side, and not them? What god in the universe gave you the right to have all these impossible things- friends, food, and freedom- and not the two people much more capable and willed than you? People with more skill than you.

It's stupid. Unfair. Wrong. Impossible.

And yet, here you are.

What are the odds of this-

"Hey!" Taiju's voice booms in your ear and you jerk to the side to gaze at those brown eyes you hadn't realized were so close. "You okay? You went quiet for a sec. Well, more than usual.."

Oh shit. There are tears in your eyes. You were crying. Oh crap, as if you didn't have enough emotional turmoil as it was. Now you just had to go and make the two people who were actually friends with you worried.

"O-oh, um" You hurriedly wipe your eyes. "It's nothing. Just thinking about.... stuff."

It's a shit excuse, but Taiju and Yuzuriha's faces fall all the same. Oh fuck, now they're sad too. What did you do now-

"I understand," Yuzurihas voice is soft; reserved. "I, um, had a mom. And a dad."

"I had a mom," Taiju says, but his voice is loud or booming or... anything boisterous. 

There's a moment of silence. It's heavy and painful and sad. 

You don't like it. And neither does Taiju, for one second he's all quiet and sad and the next, his finger is approximately one centimeter from your face.

"What's that?" He asks and you follow his finger to the woodchuck in your hand.

The wood is a bland yellow, lumpy, warm fixture in your hand. One side- the lumpy side- is uneven and scratched up- courtesy of your nails. The other side is flat and splintery. You'd found it in the forest during a scavenging trip and, well, you just... picked it up.

"Ah, well," You begin. "It's just a piece of wood I found, but I'm not that great at carving...."

"Oh. Is that what you've been trying to do all day?" Yuzuriha asks, but you don't have time to answer. "I should have known; I always saw you with a sketchbook in class."

On the good side, none of you are sad anymore- you still feel it lingering in your chest and it aches and aches and aches- but on the other side... Your ears burning again, the sensation of bubbling magma simmering on your face. "You did?"

"Yeah," She says brightly. "You're trying to carve a bird, right? Well, you're not going to get anything near that without a knife."

You blink. 

...Huh. She's right. How come you never thought of that?

"A knife?" Taiju adds in. "Hey, don't you use one of those when you make clothes, Yuzuriha?"

"I... do. But I can't take it. Not when we're..." She trails off after that. There's a serious look in her eyes, one you haven't seen on the sweet girl before. It's solemn, full of meaning, and for the life of you, you can't understand the significance behind them. But Taiju does; the nod he gives her conveys understanding and suddenly, you have no idea what's going on.

All you do know is that Yuzuriha is an open person; you can tell by the way she invited you into her friend group without a moment of hesitation and how she doesn't judge your mundane silence. And Taiju.. you've never seen him serious.

And that tells you one thing: Something's going on. Something reticent.

It's been three months since you've been resurrected and in that time, you've gotten better: at the constant hard work, at the scavenging, and at the constant stream of people that have been joining the group. You've gotten used to the ways of the jungle; of what to and not to eat and of where to step and not to step. You've gotten used to Yuzuriha's kind self and Taiju's bright personality. You've gotten used to ignoring the fragments of stone statues littered in the forest.

You've gotten better at surviving- and you're starting to notice a lot more too. 

Like, for instance, in the time you've been here, you haven't seen one elderly or middle-aged person in the Empire of Might. That, for as sincere as Tsukasa was when you first met him, the number of shady people in his Empire are anything but. And also, that Yuzuriha and Taiju have secrets that can't be said out loud.

It's an oddity for sure. 

You wonder if it has anything to do with the dark figure you keep seeing in the trees.

* * *

  
It's been a week now. 

The need for scavenging, to your dismay, is over. The farms cover a basic necessity for vegetables and fruits, so the needless task of scavenging for edible plants is basically useless now. 

On one hand, this should be considered a good thing; having a farm means the Empire is growing. It means your small community truly is building up to something stronger. Better.

On the other hand, you miss the forest. You miss the subtle smell of pine trees and the fragrant perfume of wildflowers. The sensation of leafy foliage streaming past your legs and soft dirt crunching underneath your feet. The scenic, warm sunlight streaming in through the tall trees, only to pour onto the delicate clusters of white honeysuckle nestled in a bed of bushy leaves. The harmonious melodies of tweeting birds accompanied by chirping crickets.

It's a world overgrown by nature and wildlife; a place full of unrestrained beauty. It's a small place in the world where you can forget, for just a second, that this world is full of stone people. A place where the only thing you need to know is what plants are safe and how to walk; it's a simple, manageable task that fits you.

You've never been good at anything much in your life; school was tough and housework felt unnatural. Sure, you liked to draw but it's not like art wasn't of any use. As your mother liked to say: _"You can't solve equations with a doodle and you can't cook rice with a pencil."_

She's right, as much as you dislike thinking so.

But scavenging, looking for simple plants and herbs to eat, was simple and plausible for someone with your skillset- which was basically nonexistent. 

So when Tsukasa assigns you to a seamstress of sorts, you know you're doomed from the start. And when you somehow manage to sew only one dress in a week, you don't know whether your premonition is sad or incredible.

"It's okay," Yuzuriha says to you in an attempt to cheer you up after your failure at sewing two pieces of leather together. "Sewing isn't easy. I remember my first try at crafting- I sewed a dress inside-out."

It's a nice sentiment and one you don't deserve because your hands are good for nothing but failure. 

Still, after another week showcasing your incompetence at being a seamstress, you're put into construction. You have no idea why; you aren't someone you'd call strong and you can't sew for shit, so weaving rope is out of the question.

You don't even last a week.

Your first day is spent feeling like a newborn lamb; everything feels unnatural and your uncertainty is present for every basket you make and every rope you weave. And it was for good reason too.

On your second day, the rope for the rickety pulley breaks. 

On your third day, a basket carrying a large pile of stones falls apart.

On your fourth, the rope holding the bridge together snaps. Luckily for you, no one is hurt- save for one man's dignity. You've never heard someone scream so loud. It must be a record of some sort.

And also, luckily for everyone else, you're reassigned. 

It's a godsent to be sure; construction was probably the worst thing you could have helped out with and you knew it. Still, the sigh Tsukasa gives when he sees the bridge- and you, standing nearby- practically radiates disappointment. Which, for as much as it is a normality in your life, is contagious enough to make your confidence in your next task just as high as the first. 

Hunting goes as well as your first ex-task: Poorly.

In the two days you were there, a deer escaped a trap, a rabbit managed to cleanly dodge a thrown net, and a spear somehow became apart of the forest; it had dug so deep into the wood that not even the strongest member of your part could get it out. And as to how it got stuck in the first place... 

Well. It involved a bird, a clumsy person, and a lot of honey. You probably couldn't recreate it even if you tried.

Either way, hunting is officially over for you. And also the potential allies of the rest of the hunting party. Apparently not only did your mistakes cost dinner, but your lack of verbal communication was also a problem. 

Evidently, being quiet is as not beneficial in hunting as you thought it was.

When the leader of your hunting party- his name was... Yamata?- had assigned everyone to a position to corner the lone deer, he miscommunicated an important detail: _you_.

All you did was tap him on the shoulder and ask: "What am I supposed to do?" You hadn't expected him to scream so loudly. Nor give away your position to the deer. 

The glares you received as you all headed back was nothing compared to the sneer the hunting leader gave you personally. It felt even worse when they all promptly began ignoring you. Yet, all that failed in contrast to the voice of your mother whispering long-forgotten scolding to you as you walked back to camp.

Needless to say, the Empire of Might was lucky fishing was a thing. 

Your next task is something simpler: food sorting.

It's easy. It's uncomplicated. And it's _boring_.

But it's probably the only task Tsukasa can allow you to do since you did almost kill a few people on your previous ex-tasks. So while sorting through vegetables and fruits is minimalistic, it does allow the everpresent shame to fester.

Because you had tried to help in construction, hunting, making clothes. You tried to make yourself useful. You tried to make yourself an asset. You tried to make yourself into something better.

But it ended the same way it always did: in failure. 

You tried to get good grades in school; you went to tutoring, did summer classes, and took online notes. You tried to be a better helper at home; you cleaned the house, you cooked dinner, and you watered the plants in the garden. You tried to be a better child for a mother who always saw the smudges you left on the counters and the numerous mistake on your homework. 

You tried and tried and tried. Look where that got you.

Nowhere, it seems, and at the same time, not any better.

Maybe you should have been left in that stone prison. At least then you were helpful as a holding place for wildflowers to grow or maybe even a pillar of support for growing trees. It would have been better than being as contributable as a small pebble when you were hunting and sewing and crafting and everything you do.

Well, maybe not everything. Sorting through piles and piles of harvested vegetables and fruits does make you feel useful- as useful as a piece of fox dung on the ground. 

Well, it's better than nothing. Maybe your mother would be proud of you for that; you weren't a total failure. Just a little bit of a failure.

* * *

After that, things come to a halt. At least, that's what it feels like.

Food sorting is still the same. Having only two friends is still the same. Being a failure is still the same. Oh, and dinners are still the same.

It's rabbit stew. Again. You wonder if the gods love your misery or if the hunting party is still holding a grudge. You're voting on the latter because if the gods favored you, that secret talent your brother liked to tease you about would be revealed by now. And he'd be here-resurrected- with you and the two of you would share stories about your days and he'd laugh about the hunting incident and you'd tell him to shut up but it would only last a moment because his laugh was infectious. And then you'd introduce him to Yuzuriha and Taiju and you'd all be friends and things wouldn't be so miserable anymore. Because you'd know what is it your good at in life and you wouldn't care about what the others at the camp think of you because you'd have not only Yuzuriha and Taiju, but also the one person who knew you were more than what your mother scolded you for. More than what the others thought of you at this camp. 

Your brother always looked on the bright side of things. He always had an optimism that could outshine the sun. He used to think you could do anything, regardless of what your mother bemoaned about. And he was the one person who always managed to make you laugh in the morning...

But he's not here.

Neither is your mother.

They're stone statues, tucked away somewhere in this new world. Missing. Hidden. Gone.

The only one here is you.

You, with zero talent, save for the urge for a pencil in your hand. You, quiet as a mouse and as talkative as a plant. You, the one who always seemed to mess things up no matter how hard you tried to succeed.

Sometimes, you thought you'd never be good at anything. Sometimes, you think you're letting your brother down.

Someone taps your shoulder.

"Hey," Yuzuriha says. "Your stew is getting cold. Are you going to eat?"

There's blatant concern in her eyes and a question in her gaze. "Are you alright?" She seems to say with her eyes alone.

You think of your brother. You think of your mother. You think of your failures and you think of your shame.

You shove it down and pick up your clay bowl. It's cold.

"Yeah." You mumble. "Just got lost in thought."

Yuzuriha hums. "Figures. You always seem to have your head in the clouds." You can hear the forced humor in her tone. She's still worried, but she doesn't want to push anything out of you. For that, you're grateful.

You shove a bite of rabbit meat and mushroom into your mouth. The rabbit has a lingering aftertaste and the mushrooms have picked up on it. Your nose scrunches up in disdain, but you eat anyway.

Taiju, next to Yuzuriha, perks up from his own bowl of stew. It vaguely reminds you of a dog. "Head in the clouds, huh? Hey! I think I know someone like that."

Huh? You blink at him in visible confusion.

Yuzuriha giggles. "I think you're right about that." She says. "He was always working on something, experimenting on whatever he could. I still don't know where he got half that stuff..."

Then the mood changes. It's as if lightning had struck the calm cheery mood, struck it until it was smoldering and ash, leaving only behind a sort of dreariness in the air.

"Um..." You hesitate, the words unsure on your tongue. You don't know where this mood came from but it brings a sense of vague anxiety with it. "Who is 'he'?"

They both look down. It's odd to see the same forlornness expression on both of their faces, especially Taiju. You've never seen him without that same infectious optimism you've seen in only one person before. 

You don't like it.

"His name i- was Senku," Yuzuriha says. "And he was our friend."

Oh. You've heard that name before. Yuzuriha told you about him before when everything was normal and no one was stone. It seems like a lifetime ago since that conversation. Samiko and Himiki.... you wonder what became of them. Maybe there hidden somewhere in the world, like your brother. Or maybe....

You think of a stone eye, cracked and broken. You remember a stone body fractured into pieces, missing stone legs and stone arms. Of an old woman's expression forever stuck in a petrified state.

You decide to push that image aside.

"What happened? To your friend, I mean." You're reluctant to ask. Your two friends already looked downtrodden enough; you didn't want t make it worse.

Yuzuriha opens her mouth but she pauses. She throws a glance at Taiju and h meets her eyes. There's a conversation in that gaze, but you don't have long to ponder any sort of clue as to what it's about before she looks at you again.

"He died." She replies. "We were walking along the cliffs and he, uh, fell. It was an accident."

Oh. Wait, that means-

"He was resurrected with you?" You blurt out, shocked.

"Yeah," Taiju pipes in, a wide, proud smile on his face. "He was actually the one to revive us." 

Your eyes widen. That... wasn't what you expected.

Sure, you knew you were resurrected, but you hadn't given it the special circumstances as much thought as you should have. Tsukasa was the one to bring you back to life, but you never question where he got the means to bring you back in the first place. Maybe he learned from Senku. That was a possibility. But still...

"Huh," You say, still mind-boggled. "He must have been a genius."

Taiju's grin seems to get wider and that proud gleam in his eyes brightens. "He's the smartest guy I know! He seemed to have an answer for everything. Once, he made something-carbonate stuff out of some shells. I don't know what that is or what the science is but it's pretty cool. We were childhood friends, you know."

"Oh." He must have known him pretty well then. 

"I'm sorry for your loss." You say. "He sounds like a smart guy."

"Yeah," Taiju says, looking down. "He was."

Yuzuriha and Taiju don't say much after that. 

The rest of the dinner is spent in silence. At first, you think you've said something wrong but neither Yuzuriha nor Taiju look offended or anything. They must be sad again. You may not know Senku, but he seemed pretty important to Taiju and Yuzuriha.

You pick up your bowl again. Your stew has long since gone cold. You hope that factor helps dull down the taste of rabbit. You're just about to pick up the spoon when you feel it.

Eyes. Boring into you. Someone's staring. You can feel it.

You don't know how you know, but the feeling is strong. The hairs along your arms raise. Goosebumps race down your back and the tell-tale signs of anxiety perks up with your racing heart. Discomfort bubbles to the surface and the once small suspicion of lurking eyes grows and grows until it's a blaring alarm.

You can't help but take a look behind you. Everyone's either eating dinner or chatting around the bonfire. No ones glancing in your direction. You look up.

You expect to see the darkened figure to be resting on the high branches of the tree. You expect to see a blur or maybe even a flash of eyes if you're fast enough. Maybe even a blur of any color- just to give you a better idea as to who exactly was stalking Yuzuriha and Taiju.

You don't know what's more surprising- the brown eyes staring down at you or the shock of pink hair that somehow blends into the shadows of the tree. You can't make out a face; it's too dark to make anything out.

  
You can't help but blink. Both from bewilderness and shock. Either way, when you open the again- not even a second later- the pink-haired figure is gone.

"Hey [Name]," Your [fc] hair whips your face as you tear your [fc] eyes away from the treetops. "Something wrong?" Yuzuriha asks.

You blink again. You look up. Then down. Blink again.

"No." You say, though it sounds more like a question than an answer.

* * *

  
You won't lie when you say you kind of shoved the pink-haired person out of your mind. In fact, you may have even forgotten about it as you went to sleep that night.

But the next day, it comes flooding back in the most nerve-wracking way.

"Ah, there you are." Tsukasa greets suddenly and the turnips in your hands slip from your hands in surprise. You manage to keep in a squeak but a small "Eep!" still succeeds in clawing its way past your lips.

"I apologize for startling you," He continues, as if he didn't hear the embarrassing noise emitting from you. "But if I could have a moment of your time."

It doesn't take a genius to hear the command in his words, so you immediately shove the basket of ripe harvest out of your lap. You scurry to your feet, the pinprickles of urgency setting your nerves into a panic.

As he leads you away, you wonder for the fourth time what you could have done now. You thought you were doing alright in organizing the harvest; you weren't the fastest but you were thorough. But what if you accidentally cleared a rotted onion? Or a bug-infested turnip? 

That wouldn't be good. One, because identifying rotten and edible vegetables was an easy chore that even little Riku could do and two, this is literally the only task you could do that had the lowest chances of you messing up. So if you did.... not only were you a failure, but a useless one too. 

A useless fool destined for failure. Oh, what your mother would say....

"We're here." He says and you break away from your thoughts to see the large cave. It's wet and cold, a large contrast to the hot sun outside, and water puddles decorate the stone floors. Various stone shapes of every kind make up a throne in the far end of the cave as well, but you're not particularly focusing on that at the moment. Because the pink-haired girl is here and the man with the dark mask from when you first broke free from your prison.

Huh. You must be in more trouble than you thought.

"So [Name]," Tsukasa begins. You tear your eyes away from the other two to look at his large, bulky form. "Tell me. How are you settling in with your current task? I hope it's a better fit than the others you were previously assigned to."

You should speak. Say something. Anything. But your tongue is a useless lump in your mouth.

"I, um.... f-fine." You manage to say, but nothing more. Your throat is closing up and tension is bleeding into your shoulders Discomfort makes its way home again in the sweat coating your palms and the nervousness rattling your brain. Your hands clench for something. Anything.

You wish you had your small chunk of poorly carved wood.

He hums, intense eyes staring a hole into your very soul. "Good. I was beginning to wonder if I had to reassign you again. That would have been... disappointing, to say the least." He pauses for a moment- a single moment where your nerves begin to ignite and your heart begins to race. A moment where you think: 'This is it. I'm getting a warning; a final strick and then I'm out.' 

And then he continues as if you weren't currently internally panicking. "Tell me: Do you know why I chose to revived you out of your stone prison?"

You... weren't expecting that. Actually, you weren't sure what to expect. But it wasn't that.

You actually hadn't given the circumstances of your freedom any thought. Only that it wasn't as sweet tasting as you dreamed it would be...

You shake your head.

Tsukasa hums before he paces the floor of the cave. It's a slow, steady walk. No, not a walk. It's too slow to be a casual stroll and the way his feet move along to floor... It reminds you of a panther. A panther prowling through a jungle. A wolf striding along its' prey.

A part of you wonders who is the prey. A part of you doesn't want to know.

"Do you remember what I said to you when you were revived? Do you remember what I said to you that day?" 

You nod your head. 

"This world is untamed, free from the civilization that had ruled it. A civilization that took more than gave. A world cruel and unforgiving- but this new stone world, we could start anew. And we have. Piece by piece, we have built something strong. Something different and not ruled by the rich and old- but the young and pure. And like a grand machine, each person has helped strengthen our Empire. From the largest gear to the smallest screw, everyone has a role. A place to fit in."

He turns his back to you as he walks over to the large throne. 

"Even you," He continues and even though he isn't looking at you, you know he's focusing his attention on you. "Quiet, clumsy, and inadequate at the simplest tasks like sewing or weaving rope. Not to mention you hiccup with the hunting party. But you do have one advantage- you're observant. And that's something useful in this new world."

Useful? You weren't sure what to expect before and you're definitely not sure now. And listening? Anyone could listen; it wasn't that great of a skill. Plus, your mother constantly said otherwise; she always said you didn't listen, whether it be for cooking or for homework. But.... he said it was useful. You were useful. In a way, that's all you wanted, that's all you've been wanting- to be of use. You never were in the past; sometimes, at night, your mother's voice is the one to occupy the thoughts you tried to shove away in the waking hours of the day. The voice that nitpicked the little ways you always seemed to mess up and the different representations of 'not good enough' engraving itself inside your brain. And with your current streak of failures, you can't help but think how right she was.

So to hear someone call you useful... 

"Homura," Tsukasa says and you snap your head up in time to see the pink-haired girl from before. 

"[Name's] quiet," Her voice surprises you; it's high pitched, yet soft at the same time. It sounds pleasant, but something tells you she can be anything but. "Yet observant. They saw me once, in the trees."

Tsukasa hums, like yo magically passes some secret test or something. But even more surprising is the dark masked man appraisal of you. He looks at you like he's studying a foreign piece of literature; a puzzle that needs to be solved. Well, luckily for him, you're an open book. Tsukasa already said the basics of your personality: clumsy, quiet, and a failure at everything.

And yet, despite that, he has some misplaced sense of hope for you. He called you useful, and it sounds like a gust of wind of a sunny day. A cool glass of water in a desert. It's relief. Pure, unfiltered relief that deep down, you could be something.

But despite that relief, what Tsukasa says next breaks all clear notions and common sense out the window.

* * *

"I'm not going to be organizing the harvest anymore." You tell Yuzuriha and Taiju a few hours later. You're in the middle of picking the splinters off your wood chunk but you hear Taiju's hum of confusion.

It's almost night time and the stars are barely coming out. You can smell dinner cooking, the fat of the meat melting into the fires. You can hear the rowdy chatter beginning to start up and the crackle of an ignited bonfire. 

Taiju furrows his brows at you, handing both you and Yuzuriha a bowl of tonight's dinner. You hope it's not rabbit again. "What for?"

"Don't know." You mumble, eyes still focused on your wood chunk. Something akin to a camel's hump is beginning to form.

Yuzuriha hums from beside you. "What are you getting reassigned to?"

You frown. Your nails scrap against the wood harder. "A scout."

There's a moment of silence, which is understandable. You don't understand either.

* * *

It's quiet in the forest. The dawn barely peeks over the tall trees and crickets still chirp in the distance. There aren't any animals out yet, which adds to the tranquil silence of the morning. It's dark, but thanks to the infant sunrise, the ground is visible in front of you.

That doesn't stop you from tripping over a large root.

You land with a thud onto the dirt floor, knees scraping against the grass and hands squashing flowers in your attempt at landing. A few birds fly off into the distance. The dragonfly resting on the nearby foliage takes flight.

Great start to your morning.

"Sorry," You mumble, but Homura doesn't acknowledge your apology. She does, however, flick your forehead. 

"Remember," She says. "Stay quiet."

As quiet as a mouse. Right.

Homura trains you from early morning to late afternoon. She tells you to always stay silent, where the forest foliage is thickest, and how to blend into the natural shadows of your surroundings. You hadn't expected to be taught, much less to be some sort of scout, but Tsukasa saw use of your silence.

"Homura will train you," He had said, and that was that.

  
  
Yesterday, you learned how to find animal tracks. Today, you learned how to climb trees.

It's not as easy as one would think.

The brown bark mocks you as you attempt to dig your fingers, the rough wood scraping against your hands and even though the shoes on your feet. Still, you heave yourself forward and grab at a hanging branch. You miss it by a mile.

"Push up with your legs," The pink-haired girl says. She's sitting on one of the higher branches, watching you from above.

"Sorry," You mutter against your heaving breath. Something small and solid smacks your forehead, causing you to lose your grip on the tree branch. You land on the ground with a thud again, both your butt and forehead pulsing with pain. You groan.

"Stay quiet," She states again, holding a rock. You nod, rubbing at your forehead.

"Try again." She says.

You open your mouth. You snap it shut. You nod.

She smiles down at you.

For the first time i your life, you feel... _confident_.

* * *

Dinner is spent sore and various bruises covering your arms and knees. There are a few splinters stuck in your fingers, but they're too deep to get out. You decide to not try carving your wood chunk tonight. 

You attempt to eat dinner. It's deer tonight. Your fingers throb with every bite you take.

The next day, she teaches you how to walk quietly. Where to step as to not break twigs. How to sneak upwind as to not spook any animals. What to not walk on the grassy ground.

Most importantly, how to not make a sound.

Some days, you're not sure what to make of her. 

It's hard to get a read on her, save for the few words she partakes on you during training. She rarely says anything other than that. 

You know she's firm when she instructs you and that the slightest mistake results in a harsh punishment- which is usually a flick on the forehead or a rock to the head. You know when you get something right, she smiles at you. You also know she's good at what she does; when she sneaks, her feet barely make a sound and when she climbs, it looks effortless.

Aside from anything else, that's all you know about her. You don't know if she's cruel or kind, but other than flicking you on the forehead- or the occasional rock- she isn't... cruel or anything. She's.. nice. She smiles when you get something right. Doesn't judge you for messing up, only correct you. And it's... nice. 

But walking isn't anymore.

You tread lightly on the forest floor, taking care to step delicately and softly. Move one foot in front of the other to minimize the chances of broken leaves or snapping twigs. Make sure to smooth out the dirt as you do so as to brush aside any hidden surprises in the form of sound. But most importantly, don't make a sound. Not a peep.

You step down again. There's a root next to your front foot. You step over it on your next turn. Something crunches under your platform and you automatically stiffen.

You see more than hear Homura walk over to you. She crouches by your foot and, with a quick glance, she looks over at you.

"A leaf," She says simply and you sigh internally at the mistake. "Try again."

You walk back to the other side of the clearing and try again. When you reach the tree root again, you step the side of it rather than over it. You can feel the softness of the dirt through your shoes, and that lets you know you're in the clear.

You take another step.

A twig snaps. But it wasn't from you.

You whirl around, heart beating frantically in your chest. For a moment, you see a flash of dark fur and at once, you know it's the same dark fur you've been seeing for the past few months.

You turn once again to tell Homura... something. But then you stop.

She doesn't look alarmed at all, but there is an odd shift in her expression. Her eyebrows lift just the slightest and there's a bright glow in her eyes. It reminds you of how Taiju looks at Yuzuriha sometimes.

"Hyoga." She says simply and you whirl around again to see a dark fur coat before the man with the dark mask making his way across the clearing.

"Homura." He greets, but his eyes are on you." How is the training going?"

"They're weak psychically and the motor skills they possess now are lacking. But they're quiet. The mouse will be of use." She states with such ease as if you weren't right there next to her.

"Good," He says as he walks around you. You can feel the sharpness of his eyes; it's like a knife, glinting and precise. But most importantly, it's observant. And very, very uncomfortable.

You feel like you're being dissected without being opened up. You feel like you're being cut open, guts spilling out for the world to see. You feel like you're being hunted, stalked. It reminds you of how Tsukasa walked, but it's different this time.

You just don't know how.

"Hm," Hyoga hums as he comes to a stop right in front of you, his somewhat large form blocking the morning sun. "Weak, you say? Even the weak ones can have some use, especially you. Maybe you can be of use to us yet. After all, no one pays attention to the quiet ones."

As you struggle not to breathe, it clicks. Because you know why his aura feels different from Tsukasa's. 

He's dangerous. Dangerous in a way unlike Tsukasa. Maybe even more so. it radiates off of him in waves, so tangible you could smell it.

Suddenly, Tsukasa doesn't seem so intimidating anymore.

* * *

One day, Tsukasa tells you: "I have a task I wish for you to do. There's a village not too far from here I want you to help scout. There's someone there who may or may not be there. A man I'm looking for. And I need your help to tell whether he's dead or not."

Wait. Dead? Why does that sound familiar?

Tsukasa continues. "You'll be traveling with someone, of course. A man I recently revived just for this job, but it would be foolish for him to go alone. So, I want you to go with him. Will you do so?" He asks you so politely. It sounds like sugar. It sounds like honey. But it reeks of seduction.

It makes alarm bells ring in your head.

A part of you doesn't want to go. A part of you wants to go back to organizing vegetables. A part of you wants to go back to eating dinner with Yuzuriha and Taiju while carving at a chunk of wood. 

A part of you wants to go back to when all you had to stress about was the next exam. To when all you had to wonder was when your brother was going to be home. 

A part of you wants to go back home.

But home is gone and the past is what it is- the past. And there's no going to back to the past. It's not a choice. It's not an option. It never was.

It's only a memory now.

And like the past, the sugary sweet request Tsukasa gives you is anything but a choice. It never was.

So you nod.

He smiles. It's kind one.

* * *

"I'm leaving tomorrow," You tell the only two friends you've ever had. And you're leaving them behind just the same. "Tsukasa wants me to go scout."

It's not a choice. It never was. Not for you.

"Oh," Yuzuriha says. "When will you be back?"

"He didn't say," You mumble, staring at the wooden sculpture in your hand. Your hands itch to carve, to scrap the wood off until you bring a form to life, but you feel drained. Tired. Worn.

But you're not done. There's one more thing you have to say.

"He wants me to help find someone," You tell them, lifting your head up to meet their shocked faces. "I just... wanted you guys to know."

There's silence. It feels foggy and tense; heavy and thick, like the air was replaced with water. There's something forming in the air as well; bubbling to the surface, ready to burst forth. And it does so.

Your hands, once occupied with your wood, are yanked away from you. Your wood sculpture clatters to the ground. You stare up at Yuzuriha, eyes wide in shock.

The usually kind-faced girl looks anything but now. She looks serious in a way she rarely does and something you've only seen once. There's an m manic glint in her eyes as she stares you down. Her expression resembles something frantic as she squeezes your hands tight.

"Hey, Yuzu," Taiju begins to say. "What are you-"

"[Name,]" She states. "Is this person... a man who may or may not be dead?"

"...Yes," You whisper softly. How did she-

"Is this person a friend?" You ask, your voice rising with urgency. 

She nods, and the frenzied air cools down into something serious. Into something important. "Yes."

"What's he like?" The words shoot out of your mouth. The ball is rolling. Pieces are connecting. And you don't like the picture it's forming.

She doesn't miss a beat. "He's a genius, but if he asks you to help out- don't. Or you'll basically be-"

"- a slave." You finish for her.

The ball slams to a stop. Everything slides into place. In the picture you make, you see a genius who seemed to know everything. You see a childhood friend of a person with an optimism of the sun and a girl with a kind heart. You see someone with two friends who's loyalty that couldn't be shaken even in this new stone world- in a supposed death. 

Suddenly, that picture feels like an anchor in your hands. The breath in your lungs feels constricted; compressed. The air around you feels suffocating and tight. 

Suddenly, you feel trapped.

"Wait," Taiju pipes in. "What's going on? Does it have something to do with-"

"Yes!" Yuzuriha exclaims, hastily shoving Tiaju's words back into his mouth. "Yes! It does! Now shush!"

You stand there, shellshocked, for a moment. What was that about-

Oh.

"Don't worry," You tell a once-again frantic Yuzuriha. "No one's listening to us. Homura isn't here today."

The look on both of your friend's faces makes the tense air feel just a bit lighter.

* * *

The next day, Tsukasa introduces you to another man He's shorter than Tsukasa and lanky with parted white and black hair.

For a moment, you're confused.

Then Tsukasa introduces you. "Mouse, this is Gen Asagiri, a mentalist who you'll be working with. Gen, this is Mouse. They'll be your scout."

Gen Asagiri... He looks familiar to you, but you can't quite pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps you saw him in school or on tv maybe. Either way, you're going to be working for him. Whether you like it or not.

It's not a choice.

Gen gives you a calculating look, but it doesn't look as menacing as Hyoga's nor as intimidating as Tsukasa's.

"Hm," He hums. "Mouse, huh? Interesting name."

Your lips twitch. 

Moouse. A name you gave yourself when you were hopeful for a better future, one free of stress and expectation and failure. What a fool you were for being hopeful.

"Well, no matter." Gen continues. "I suppose it doesn't matter." Then he smiles and you know before he speaks of the sugary words that will spill out of his mouth. 

"I have high hopes we'll get the job done, especially if we work together. What do you say, partner?" Politeness oozes out of him as he clamps your hand in an overly-friendly way. But you've seen this type of behavior many times before, heard it uttered to you countless times. 

You just hope Gen isn't the same as Tsukasa or Hyoga. Especially Hyoga.

* * *

"I'm leaving tomorrow," You tell your friends later that night. "Morning. Tomorrow morning."

"Oh," Taiju says, a rare frown on his face. "So, you'll be out to look for, uh, someone starting tomorrow?"

You nod, looking down.

A wooden cross stares back at you.

The three of you are standing in a small clearing. The dirt is soft, telling you from your lessons with Homura that it's recently been disturbed. 

Yuzuriha gazes at you sadly. " You be safe, okay?"

"I will." But you know it's no guarantee, especially since you don't know what to do about this scouting mission. You sincerely hope you never find Senku, but you know the truth already. You've noticed the slip-ups from Yuzuriha and the accidental outburst from Taiju. You've heard the way they use the present tense instead of the past. You always wondered why they did that- now you know.

There's something getting pushed into your hands. You look up wot see Yuzuriha slipping you something sharp and pointy. It's a small knife.

"So you can finally carve something decent instead of weird lumps," She jibes at you with a smile.

"Hey! You took one of those knives from your sewing thing, didn't you?" Yuzuriha grins at Taiju, confirming his answer.

"Oh." You say with a small smile of your own. Warmth blooms in your chest as you gaze at the small knife. Then it cools into sadness. you'll miss them. A lot. "Thank you."

For being your first friends. For being there for you. For talking to you. For eating dinner with you. For making you laugh and smile. For letting you be your quiet, antisocial self and still accepting you. For helping you live.

For everything.

Taiju flashes you a grin. Yuzuriha reaches out to squeeze your hand. "Of course," she says. "What are friends for?"

The two of you smile at each other for a moment before Taiju breaks the silence like the positive person he is.

"Oh! I forget to tell you! Since you don't know how long you'll be gone for, you gotta know how to hunt and stuff. I'm not sure you'll find many vegetables and stuff out there, but if you need to fish, remember you gotta be very still and-"

He goes on and on about what to do and what not to do about surviving out there; about fishing and about what plants not to eat- anything colorful, basically- and that clams can help with shaving, just in case you need to, and that smoking fish helps with preserving them. Taiju fills the cold night with chatter, Yuzuriha is a warm presence beside you, and the stars are twinkling up above. For a moment, you can forget about your scouting mission tomorrow, of the exceptions placed upon you, and of the many consistent thoughts of 'what do I do?' Because on one hand, Tsukasa and Homura and Hyoga all want you to find this one person. But on the other hand, this person is a supposedly dead friend of your friends- two people who have been nothing but kind to you.

But for now, it's a nice night.

  
The next morning, however, is anything but.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, hope u guys enjoyed reading. Now im going to bed cuz I've been working on this for a while. Til next time.

**Author's Note:**

> All stories have a beginning and all characters start somewhere. This is where the reader starts off.
> 
> When I write fics, I like to savor things; I don't like to rush into parts of a story without taking time to get settled in the beginning. Also, I had to cut the chapter into two so... yay.


End file.
